ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on February 6, 2026.
Lessons from Bondi Junction attack show what we really need from schizophrenia care
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Hickie, Co-Director, Health and Policy, Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney Joel Cauchi’s psychiatrist failed to see the early warning signs of his relapse into psychosis and should be investigated by the Queensland health ombudsman, New South Wales coroner Teresa O’Sullivan has concluded. Cauchi, who
With international law at a ‘breaking point’, a tiny country goes after Myanmar’s junta on its own
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Palmer, Lecturer in International Law, Griffith University Just four months ago, Timor-Leste formally became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN). This week, the tiny country took an unprecedented step: its judicial authorities appointed a prosecutor to examine the Myanmar military’s responsibility for
What our teeth reveal about the growing gap between rich and poor
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eve Vincent, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Macquarie University Pavel Danilyuk/Pexels, CC BY Teeth are one of the most visible markers of poverty: structural circumstances that are individually borne. In an essay for Aeon, US journalist Sarah Smarsh calls them “poor teeth”. She writes: Often, bad teeth are blamed
Bunnings’ backyard pods won’t fix the housing crisis, but they signal a shift
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ehsan Noroozinejad, Senior Researcher and Sustainable Future Lead, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Bunnings, The Conversation Australia is in a deep housing crisis. The latest National Housing Supply and Affordability Council analysis shows the country is likely to fall more than a quarter-of-a-million homes short
Climate change a priority for NZ’s iwi leaders at Waitangi
By Layla Bailey-McDowell, RNZ Māori news journalist Climate change has been a key focus for iwi leaders gathering at Waitangi this week, as coastal communities across New Zealand’s North Island recover from recent severe weather events. The National Iwi Chairs Forum, representing more than 70 iwi, has been meeting to set priorities for the year
Why comparisons between AI and human intelligence miss the point
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Celeste Rodriguez Louro, Associate Professor, Chair of Linguistics and Director of Language Lab, The University of Western Australia Aelitta / Getty Images Claims that artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of surpassing human intelligence have become commonplace. According to some commentators, rapid advances in large language
The Voice campaign entrenched immature politics. We must do better for First Nations people
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Scott, Department of Pro Vice Chancellor (Society), UNSW Sydney; Indigenous Knowledge The defeat of the Voice referendum was not simply a political loss. It was a political and cultural failure. It exposed, yet again, the profound immaturity of Australia’s political life when it comes to First
Green Party celebrates decision to decline ‘dead end’ Taranaki seabed mining
RNZ Pacific The Green Party is celebrating the decision to decline plans to mine the Taranaki seabed. In a draft decision on Thursday, the fast-track approvals panel declined Trans-Tasman Resources’ (TTR) bid to mine 50 million tonnes of seabed a year for 30 years in the South Taranaki Bight. The panel found there would be
If Australia and Indonesia agreed to end new thermal coal mines, it could drive the green transition.
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Symons, Director of Research and Innovation, School of International Studies, Macquarie University In the 1960s, major oil-producing nations formed a cartel to drive up the price of oil. It worked. For decades, nations in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have agreed to manage
No diagnoses and no gap fees for physios and speechies. What else do we know about Thriving Kids?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Kindel Media/Pexels Thriving Kids is back in the spotlight, after the states and territories agreed last week to match the federal government’s A$2 billion dollar investment. The new national program is targeted at children aged 0-8 with developmental delay
WHO membership doesn’t threaten NZ’s sovereignty – walking away from it would
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Petousis-Harris, Associate Professor in Vaccinology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images When NZ First leader Winston Peters responded to the recent US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) by questioning whether New Zealand should continue funding it, he employed a familiar narrative.
Can a bird be an illegal immigrant? How the White Australia era influenced attitudes to the bulbul
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Farley, Assistant Lecturer, History, The University of Melbourne The Conversation, CC BY-NC-SA In early January, authorities from South Australia’s Department of Primary Industries took to the streets of Adelaide on the hunt for a suspicious individual. This individual had been spotted several times in the preceding
Is federal government spending really to blame for higher inflation? It’s not clear cut
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra There has been a spate of articles and commentary in recent days calling on the Australian government to reduce spending. Those calling for government cuts – mostly long-time advocates of smaller government – claim this would lower inflation, and
Taxi Driver at 50: Martin Scorsese’s film remains a troubling reflection of our times
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney IMDB Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver turns 50 this month. Nominated for four Oscars and winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Festival, Scorsese’s searing, hallucinatory portrait of urban alienation is widely regarded as
Speeches, celebrations and heckling – what happened at Waitangi
By Russell Palmer, RNZ News political reporter New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon faced sustained heckling and had to fend off questions about a revived Treaty Principles Bill as he returned to Waitangi this year. ACT leader David Seymour predictably attracted his own jeers, and NZ First’s Winston Peters focused on a return serve. The
Grattan on Friday: Jim Chalmers’ ticker is about to be tested as he tacks towards the May budget
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The next few months may be the most crucial Jim Chalmers has faced as treasurer, at least for judgements about his ability to drive change. They could tell us whether Chalmers really is as committed to serious economic reform as
With a shortage of aged-care beds, discharging patients stranded in hospital is harder than it sounds
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hal Swerissen, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, La Trobe University David Sacks/Getty Images The Australian government has finalised a A$220 billion hospital funding deal with the states and territories. A key part of the negotiation was $2 billion designed to help hospitals move more than 3,000 patients
Committee to Protect Journalists: The First Amendment is in peril
Sweeping cuts by one of most iconic investigative newspapers in the United States, The Washington Post, now owned by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, apply to about one-third of the newsroom, with sport and international coverage largely gutted. Another major blow to media freedom in the US that came after the following CPJ editorial was published.
Why did it take 9 days to declare the Perth bombing attempt a terrorist attack?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Levi West, Research Fellow, Research School of Social Science, Australian National University Tim Clifford/Instagram Nine days after it happened, police have declared an alleged attempted bombing at an Invasion Day rally in Perth an act of terrorism. A 31-year-old man is accused of throwing a homemade fragment
A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland The Great Comet of 1680 over Rotterdam. Lieve Verschuier/Rotterdam Museum A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited, with the potential to be a spectacular sight in early April. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was spotted by a team of four amateur
